Welcome to This Week In DVD + This Week In Blu-ray = This Week In Discs! It’s a work in progress still, but we hope you enjoy. The entertainment industry appears to be celebrating our new baby by releasing a cinemetric ton of quality Blus and DVDs. Hope you’ve been saving your pennies… As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Father’s Day (Blu-ray/DVD) A young boy loses his eye to a sadistic madman after witnessing the murderous pervert rape and kill his father. Years later, Ahab is a pissed off, pistol-packing ex-con out for revenge and joined in his quest by a teenage (well, Porky’s kind of teenage anyway) street hustler and a young priest on a quest to send the demonic psychopath to the bowels of hell. In a week with The Raid, Kill List and Jaws all hitting Blu-ray why am I featuring this Troma release as my Pick of the Week? Because those titles have enough press behind them, and Father’s Day deserves some too. It’s gory as hell, foul as f*ck and funnier than any other movie featuring chainsaw-wielding strippers. If you can handle the bloodletting and copious nudity, both female and male (way, way too much male), then this is a four-disc special edition worth owning. You get the movie on Blu and DVD, a DVD of special features and a soundtrack CD. [Extras: Deleted scenes, Featurettes, Trailers, Short films by Astron-6]

Welcome back to This Week In DVD… now with more Blu-ray! The times they are a changing, and occasionally that means FSR’s DVD department is sent Blu-rays to cover instead. It happens. This week it happened to a handful of older Touchstone films, a couple Chuck Norris classics, two TV series, a beloved children’s classic and two direct to disc horror films. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Strike Back: Cinemax Season One (Blu-ray/DVD) Michael Stonebridge is an elite member of Britain’s anti-terrorist squad, and his latest mission finds him taking on the world’s most dangerous madman while he simultaneously takes on a new partner in a disgraced Delta Force soldier named Damien Scott. Together they kill, screw and blow(up) their way around the world trying to stop an impending terrorist attack. This is technically the British series’ second season, but it’s the first with the extra financial backing from Cinemax. And anyone who knows Cinemax knows they bring lots of sex wherever they go. Seriously. The show crosses the line into implausibility more than once, but that never diminishes the fun. Fantastic action sequences, strong pacing, high production values, solid chemistry between the leads and a bevy of buck-naked ladies make this one worth watching (and possibly owning). [Extras: Commentaries]

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Lots of new releases to choose from, but sadly, most of them are better left unwatched. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. The Weight of the Nation Americuh! This should come as news to no one, but the United States is full of fatties. Almost 70% of Americans are technically overweight or obese, and the causes for this are as numerous as ice cream flavors. The people themselves are ultimately responsible of course, but corporations, schools, and government inaction are equally culpable. This devastating HBO doc is broken into four parts: Consequences, Choices, Children In Crisis and Challenges. It looks at the problem from all sides identifying causal factors and their eventually deadly outcomes, and in a perfect world it would be mandatory viewing for classrooms and households alike.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! We take a look at fifteen new releases below, and a whopping eleven of them are good to great and worth your time! As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Brake A man (Stephen Dorff) awakens in a plexiglass box that itself rests inside a car’s trunk. Confused at first, he soon learns his captors are after a very specific piece of information they need to complete a terrorist attack. Can he hold out against their threats and actions? This film bears thematic similarities to 2009′s Buried, but it’s a far superior experience (at least until the end anyway). Dorff does a fine job as the highly stressed lead, the story’s twists and turns are a solid mix of the expected, the smart and the unpredictable, and there are several genuinely exciting moments. Just be sure to turn it off about two minutes before the credits roll. [Extras: Commentary, featurette, music video]

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! I’d apologize for the title above, but those are actually legitimate elements of four of the releases below. Okay, maybe the Susie Salmon one is sophomoric wordplay related to the otherwise boring Salmon Fishing In the Yemen, but the others are completely legit. I swear. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. The Inbetweeners: The Complete Series When Will’s mother moves him from private to public school he thinks his life is over, but thanks to three new friends he’ll be wishing it really was. Will’s anal, Simon’s a bit too gullible, Jay’s an irresponsible tool and Neil is a bit of an idiot. Together they’re hilarious. This UK series ran for three seasons, and each is literally better and funnier than the last. Each episode is essentially what the American Pie movies think they are… crass, heartfelt and funny as hell. [Deleted scenes, outtakes, commentaries, featurettes]

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Lots of solid releases this week including the first season of Adventure Time, Fatso, the latest seasons of The Glades and iCarly and more. Also out today? The obviously terrible American Reunion and the inexplicably lauded Margaret. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. The Flowers of War The Chinese city of Nanjing has been invaded and occupied by the Japanese, and one of the many traumatic stories unfolding in this crumbling urban jungle involves a group of prostitutes and another of schoolgirls who hole up together in a church for safety. They’re joined by an American (Christian Bale) pretending to be a priest to save his own skin who’s struggling to balance his self interests with the need to protect others. Director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) crafts some stunning battle scenes alongside a truly heartbreaking narrative. Seriously, my eyes may or may not have been leaking profusely at the final scenes. Check out my full review. [Extras: featurettes]

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! I just moved to Arizona a couple days ago, and I have yet to get carded. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Barbarella (Blu-ray) A leftist pinko astronaut named Barbarella (Jane Fonda) is tasked with finding the origin of Duran Duran’s name and rescuing a lost scientist along the way. Neither plan comes to fruition, but she does manage to use her skill at love-making to help the resistance in their struggle against tyranny, teach an angel to fly, and break a musical dildo machine. (Probably worth reminding readers that my ‘Pick of the Week’ isn’t necessarily reserved for excellent movies or even the week’s best releases, but instead it’s meant to highlight a title worth, well, highlighting.) This boob and innuendo-filled, PG-rated, late-sixties romp is ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining. Cheesy, absurd and pretty damn funny.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Lots of fantastic (and not so fantastic) titles hitting shelves today including one of the year’s best comedies, an Academy Award winner for Best Film, a near-hilariously bad Korean monster movie, Drafthouse Films’ newest release and more. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Sound of Noise Amadeus Warnebring is a detective with a not-so-secret disdain for music thanks to a family that displayed immense and near constant talent for the art, but when a group of musical terrorists begin threatening the city with impromptu performances he’s tasked with overcoming his issues to catch the culprits and prevent the musical apocalypse. You really shouldn’t need more than that synopsis to encourage you to seek this movie out, but I’ll add that this Swedish film is a rare original and filled with laughs and honestly enjoyable music. Check out my full review.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! It seems the long national nightmare is over, as through no small part of our own, This Week In Blu-ray has been found alive and well after 76 grueling days. It was just two weeks ago that we made a plea for the safe return of Neil Miller’s column, and now we’ve gotten just that. Give it a read, and don’t let the fact that he’s wrong about A Bag of Hammers turn you away. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. The Sarah Silverman Program: The Complete Series Sarah Silverman brings her particular brand of crass, crazy and oddly sexy humor to Comedy Central with this series that follows her daily adventures alongside her sister Laura, her big, orange, gay neighbors Brian and Steve, her dog Doug, and an affable officer of the law named Officer Jay. Sarah the character is foul mouthed, selfish and liable to piss off just about everyone as she goes about her day to day life, and Sarah the comedienne makes her very, very convincing with comedy that wavers between smart commentary, edgy observations and poop jokes. Her antics and voice are definitely not for everyone, but if you like your laughs in the form of attractive, crude and attractively crude women you really can’t go wrong with this very funny lady.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Lots of titles to choose from today in all three categories including two brilliant Criterion releases, the second Robert Downey Jr Sherlock Holmes film, a Dutch family film that stars a frequently naked lady from Game of Thrones, and a mixed bag of direct to DVD releases. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Accident Ho Kwok-fai (Louis Koo) is the brains behind a four-person team of assassins who specialize in making their hits look like accidents, but when one of their own is killed in an accident not of their making he suspects the team is being targeted. Johnnie To produced this dark little gem that teases a couple well choreographed action scenes but focuses instead on suspense and feelings of paranoia, loss and suspicion. It’s a sharp thriller that surprises more than once throughout its short running time, and it marks director Soi Cheang as a director unafraid to go against the usual stylized Hong Kong action grain. Some of the choreographed accidents are incredibly precise and seem to rely on an awful amount of luck, but they are professionals after all. Shout! Factory’s first foray into Asian cinema is a winner.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Has anyone seen our brother column, This Week In Blu-ray? I’m worried it may have been abducted and diddled against its will… As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eighth Season Larry David’s divorce from Cheryl is finalized, and he finds himself heading for New York City after a characteristically disastrous social interaction. Typical Larry. Some viewers are unable to find the humor in David’s character and shenanigans and instead see nothing but frustration… and that’s an understandable reaction. He speaks his mind at all times, and while I don’t always agree with him I do find his complete lack of social skills refreshing and often hilarious. Plus, Michael J Fox and those damn girl scouts had it coming anyway.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Lots of new releases today with the common theme being that they’re all worth a watch at the very least. So head on down to your local Hollywood Video and check out Coriolanus, A Necessary Death, Goon and yes, even We Need To Talk About Kevin. Seriously, check out that last one as I need someone, anyone, to validate my opinion that the film is more ridiculous than impressive. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Henning Mankell’s Wallander: Swedish Series Two Chief Inspector Wallander has a knack for solving crimes even as he grows tired of man’s inhumanity towards man in this second Swedish TV series (season) to be based on Henning Mankell’s most famous character. Krister Henriksson stars as the talented but beleaguered detective through thirteen episodes of murder, deceit and drama, and he brings real pathos to the character while still keeping him an engaging but likeable grump. The mysteries are well-constructed and excitingly shot, and they serve as a reminder that our own TV series could benefit from a shorter schedule that allows for more quality over quantity. Now to track down Henriksson’s season one…

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Some great releases hit shelves today with two of the best hailing from the UK. Also out this week are the McG misfire This Means War, the classic TV series Route 66, the hilarious tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen Red Tails, Daniel Radcliffe’s creepy period piece The Woman In Black, and many more. Bonus points to anyone who can match the three ‘giant’ items from this week’s title above to the three characters/performers below. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Perfect Sense A chef (Ewan McGregor) and an epidemiologist (Eva Green) meet and fall in love just as a strange new disease begins to spread worldwide. People are struck with a strong emotional response immediately followed by the loss of one of their senses. It’s like Contagion but with heart and personality. This is a beautiful film about life, love and what it means to be human. It’s a must-see about mankind’s resilience in the face of loss and devastation. Just be sure to watch it before your vision and hearing fade away.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! After a couple of sparse weeks we’re rewarded with a bevy of worthwhile DVD releases suitable for your viewing pleasure including a Criterion edition of Being John Malkovich, the teen super power adventure Chronicle, Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood, Woody Harrelson playing bad cop/worse cop in Rampart, and Liam Neeson going head to head with wolves in The Grey. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Michael Michael works at an insurance firm, he hangs out with co-workers, he visits his mom and sister… and he has a ten year-old boy captive in his basement. The boy isn’t in chains, in fact he’s treated quite well aside from the captivity and occasional diddling. This calmly mesmerizing little Austrian drama about a few months in the life of a pedophile isn’t a thriller in the conventional sense, but goddamn are the final fifteen minutes suspenseful as hell. It’s a methodical and beautifully acted film that gets under your skin with its normality and subtle unpredictability.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Sadly, this is one of the worst week for new releases in decades. Decades I say! Well, in weeks anyway. Some of the mediocre titles coming out this week include the occasionally entertaining Underworld: Awakening, the frustratingly uninteresting Mother’s Day remake, the low-rent Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, and Channing Tatum’s funniest film yet, The Vow. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. The Front Line War films are a staple here in the US, something that’s benefited by the fact that America has dozens of wars to choose from, but not every country is as lucky (or unlucky).  South Korea was a part of only one major conflict in the modern era, but out of this trauma have come several fantastic war films including 71: Into the Fire and My Way. The Front Line is the latest and also one of the best as it focuses on one of the war’s final battles. Both the South and the North struggle to capture and recapture a particular hill as the final hours of the war wind down, but as the clock ticks forward the men (and woman) discover there’s far more at stake here than a simple plot of land. Director Hun Jang finds real suspense and spectacular battlefield action amidst the stories between friends, enemies and countrymen.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! It’s a light release week, but some of the titles include Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, the WB’s Felicity, a Bosnian dramedy, a really bad Sammo Hung movie and more! As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Movie Ric Meyers brings his book, Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Book, to life in a documentary that feels alternately like a home-made passion project and a fun, informative and enthusiastic look at martial arts cinema. Narrator Yuri Lowenthal talks with a casual and spirited voice as he walks us through the history of kung fu movies and the filmmakers both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Clips from dozens of classic movies, new movies and movies you’ve probably never heard of are spread liberally throughout alongside animation, knowledge and personality. Meyers’ conclusions are sometimes a bit wonky, but it’s a fun and fast watch for genre fans.

There’s an unusual trend in this week’s releases in that they’re genre heavy with a high percentage of horror films for some reason. I love horror movies, but sadly only two of the six genre titles covered below are really worth your time and money. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. The Innkeepers The Yankee Pedlar Inn is closing its doors for good, and only two employees remain for its last few days of very light occupancy. Claire (the ridiculously adorable Sara Paxton) and Luke (the equally adorable but in a totally different way Pat Healy) wile away the late night hours hunting for the Inn’s supposed resident ghost, but what begins with a pair of overactive imaginations soon becomes a terrifying reality. Ti West’s second feature shows a deft hand at pacing, humor and scares and delivers beautifully on all three counts. Best of all, this is a rarity among genre films in that it manages to make you care for the characters and fear for their safety. And did I mention Paxton is freaking adorable?

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! You should already have the fourth Mission: Impossible film on pre-order, and other titles out this week include the very funny Bob’s Burgers, a quartet of sexy nurse movies from Roger Corman, the second season of HBO’s Treme and more. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Shame Brandon (Michael Fassbender) seems to have it all, at least on the outside. He has a high-paying job, a great Manhattan apartment and a life filled with beautiful women. That last one isn’t as fun as it sounds though as the arrival of his little sister (Carey Mulligan) pulls the lid back on his uncontrollable obsession with sex and reveals a man who loathes himself. It’s probably the most depressing, sex-filled movie you’ve seen in some time, but Fassbender’s performance is also one of the bravest. Steve McQueen’s film turns what could have been an unsympathetic condition into a mix of the pitiful and heartbreaking. Powerful, uncompromising performances and filmmaking.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! This is actually the third anniversary of my stewardship of the column, and I want to thank all of you for stopping by each and every Tuesday to check out the week’s best and worst DVD releases. I’ve discovered countless fantastic films over the last three years, and I hope some of you can claim the same. Or even just one of you. This week’s releases include an utterly terrible biopic (with great makeup!) of Margaret Thatcher, Werner Herzog’s best documentary from 2011, a bland alien invasion flick set in Moscow, a powerful boys-in-prison drama from Norway and more! As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Conversation Piece Burt Lancaster plays a retired American living in Rome whose quiet life is interrupted by a quartet of rude and rambunctious neighbors. They talk their way into renting his upstairs apartment, and over the course of the months that follow they worm their way into his life with interruptions, destruction, seduction and endless conversation. Luchino Visconti’s film is a beautifully shot tale of clashing ideals and intellects unafraid to mix political discussion with homoerotic undertones and black comedy with a sexy teenage seductress. Raro Video has done a fantastic job with the film’s first widescreen, English language release in the US, and while the link here is for their new Blu-ray transfer a DVD version is also available.

Welcome back to This Week In DVD! It’s a fairly calm release week, but there are a few recognizable titles hitting shelves including Steven Spielberg’s cheesy War Horse and the universally acclaimed film about a man famous for sticking his hand inside a felt anus, Being Elmo. Lesser known releases include a couple Cartoon Network shows, Bob Newhart’s unfortunate TV swan song, two European imports worth your time and more. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Tyrannosaur Joseph (Peter Mullan) leads a sad, lonely life punctuated with bouts of alcohol-fueled violence, but when he meets a charitable woman named Hannah (Olivia Colman) he discovers his humanity may yet be salvageable. “An animal can only take so much punishment and humiliation before it snaps, fights back,” he says at one point. “It’s just nature.” Paddy Considine wrote and directed this, his feature debut, and it’s clearly a personal tale inspired by the people and places he’s known. It’s a bleak, tough watch at times, but Considine surprises with a wise and unexpected ending.